We All Live For The Unknown. Here Is How You Can Start Embracing It.
We fear the unknown because we can’t predict the outcome.
“One is never afraid of the unknown; one is afraid of the known coming to an end.” ― Krishnamurti
Why are we scared of the unknown?
We fear the unknown because we can’t predict the outcome.
What do you live for?
Life becomes more interesting as we uncover more misery from our lives.
We live in a world where we want to be certain before we do something.
We want to be certain our book will sell before writing the book.
We want to be sure our startup will cause disruption before we begin it.
We want to be certain our music is going to be a hit before we release it.
We want to be certain we will win the competition before taking part in it.
We want to be certain our article will go viral before we write it.
We want to be certain our business will grow to be a billion-dollar business before we start it.
Look around, what has certainty given to you?
The primary obstacle to trust in the unknown is fear. Fear emanates from the personal self that has become accustomed to predictability. Now, when much is not predictable, the personal self may suffer much. And want to make things predictable once again.
Fear is the number one factor that stands in our way of turning dreams into realities. Letting go of fear allows us to dive into the unknown of our comfort zones.
As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry puts it “Only the unknown frightens men. But once a man has faced the unknown, that terror becomes the known.”
To be able to conquer the fear of the unknown, you need to understand why people seek for certainty at any price.
Research shows that we prefer to know for sure that something wrong will happen over not knowing what an outcome will be.
Life is nothing by itself but the experiment we carry out to living life is what makes it interesting for us.
How do you feel for a project or task that you know you are going to pull through doing it? There isn’t going to be much excitement for you doing it.
“I have learned that being receptive to the unknown, in all its many facets, allows us to become more open. Curious, flexible, and expansive in our personal and professional lives. This openness is the key to all learning and creativity. It is the gate that unlocks our wisdom and courage.” says Estelle Frankel
Imagine Roger Federer playing tennis game with me that have no single iota of how to play the game.
There won’t be much excitement for him cause he knows the outcome already which is he is going to defeat me.
When you learn to get used to being excited about not knowing what’s going to happen, life seems exciting.
“Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure. Life is like that. We don’t know anything. We call something bad; we call it good. But really we just don’t know.” Pema Chödrön.
Living in not-knowing is hard. And it can be a profound spiritual practice. It requires us to let go of our illusions that we can control our own future or that we know what’s coming next. It requires us to accept a certain degree of mystery, of unknowability.
How do you feel when you put in for a project or task that you have no idea of the outcome?
It becomes challenging and exciting for you to give it a try and see how it turns out.
That is the experimental project we carry out with life as well.
If you’re still too scared to jump into the unknown, think about the last time you did something unexpectedly.
What was the turnout? How did it make you feel? You felt scared in the beginning but were very glad that you had done it, weren’t you? If you can’t think of the last time you did something unexpected, then maybe you need to go on a random adventure. Go somewhere new. Try something different. Talk to new people. It can give you a total breath of fresh air.
You cannot control uncertainty. Worrying will only make things worse. However, understanding what’s going on in your mind (or someone else’s) can reduce the pain. It will increase your chances to thrive when the unexpected knocks at your door. Says Gustavo Razzetti.
Part of embracing life means accepting a lack of control over what will happen next. If we realize this at an early stage, we will live much happier lives.
Steve Jobs doesn’t know apple is going to become a trillion-dollar company. Jeff Bezos doesn’t know amazon his going to become a trillion-dollar company. But these were experiment they carried out on their company and it turns out fine.
The truth is things lack excitement when we know how the end is going to be.
Discoveries are made through what is unknown to us and not what is known.
Discovery doesn’t happen in a vacuum which is why doing things however imperfectly at first, opens us up creatively. Says Peter Sims in his book Little bets.
What little bets are you making on yourself through your experiment?
Betting on yourself means carrying out an experiment on yourself. irrespective of the outcome. It takes us into a world of unknown.
“How can you know what you’re capable of if you don’t embrace the unknown?” Esmeralda Santiago.
Certainty is the enemy of progress. Being afraid is natural, but it shouldn’t prevent you from embracing the unknown.
Because by expecting to get things right at the start. We block ourselves psychologically and choke off a host of opportunity to learn.
As much as am always trying to embrace the unknown. I’m continuously challenging myself to get out of my comfort zone, I also fall prey to this paradox.
Dealing with change requires being open to the uncertain. Embrace the unknown one step at a time. Learn to accept reality rather than fight back.
Remeber success hides a problem. And our creative capacities won’t be liberated unless we let go of the need to always be perfect or have the immediate answer.
What little bets (experiment) are you carrying out on yourself?
Don’t be afraid of being afraid. That’s how you conquer the fear of the unknown both in yourself and in others. Says Gustavo Razzetti
Live for the unknown and things get interesting as you journey and experiment along.
